Reviewed resources for teaching about climate and energy

Why is Carbon Important?

Students explore the carbon cycle and the relationship between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and temperature. Students create and compare graphs of carbon dioxide and temperature data from one local (Mauna Loa, Hawaii) meteorological station and one NASA global data set. These graphs, as well as a global vegetation map and an atmospheric wind circulation patterns diagram, are used as evidence to support the scientific claims they develop through their analysis and interpretation.

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Notes From Our Reviewers

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Teaching Tips

Teaching Tips

Complete activity, easy to use for educators and students.

About the Science

This student graphing exercise allows students to interpret graphs, analyze data, and reach their own conclusions.

Project/team approach to the lesson with computer-based graphing exercises, mind maps, and group discussions and presentations.

Educator's guide is clearly written.

Student materials are well organized.

About the Pedagogy

Data set in this exercise only goes to 1998. The educator may want to supplement this with more recent data, see links below or check the references in the educator's guide.

Important learning about correlations and causation.

Technical Details

Emphasize the idea that a correlation between measurements does not imply a causal relationship (i.e., there needs to be other evidence to establish this relationship).